Peculiarities of interethnic perception of the gagauz and bulgarians in the Republic of Moldova

Abstract

Moldova is a multi-ethnic state. One third of the country’s population is national minorities, including the Gagauz and Bulgarians. There is material evidence in history that negative stereotypes and conflicts existed between two ethnic groups in the region in the early 19th century. But over time, relations between the Gagauz and Bulgarians lost their former acuteness. The article substantiates the need to study ethnic heterostereotypes of the Gagauz and Bulgarians as a brandtheir ethnic identity. The results of the conducted empirical study of ethnic heterostereotypes of the Bulgarian and Gagauz youth prove that in the sphere of intergroup perception, these ethnic groups have a problem - distance from each other. There is a certain tension in the relationship between the Gagauz and Bulgarians, which manifests itself in a hidden, smoldering form. It is expressed in social competition, achieved by ethnocentric evaluative comparison of one’s own and another’s group in favor of one’s own. But, nevertheless, they also have a powerful resource - a positive ethnic identity, which includes not only a positive self-identification, but also a positive image. The authors conclude that it is necessary to strengthen the positive ethnic identity of the Gagauz and Bulgarian youth. Increasing intercultural communication and competence is the main way to bring these two closely adjacent ethnic groups closer together.